Omega Nebula

Omega Nebula

cosmosscience:

Image:

This beautiful image is one of the first spectacular images from the new telescope in Chile. 

The image shows the Swan Nebula/Omega Nebula, which lies in the heart of the Milky Way in the constellation of Sagittarius.

The telescope: 

The telescope that took this stunning picture is called the VLT survey telescope (VST). 

The VST is a 2.6 meter telescope with a 268 mega-pixel camera. The telescope is designed the map the sky quickly with precise image quality.

Over the next 5 years the VST will be taking clear images and surveys of the southern sky.

CREDIT: space, european southern observatory, eso, eso images, messier 17, vst, vlt survey telescope, vista infrared survey telescope, new telescope, paranal observatory, first light, first light pictures, new telescope images 

Omega Nebula

invaderxan:

Swan Nebula

Omega Nebula

uraniaproject:

M16 M17 region (by vetenskapsman)

Omega Nebula

spaceporn:

The Omega Nebula |

Image of the Omega Nebula or the Swan Nebula using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), at the Paranal Observatory in Chile.

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unknownskywalker:

VLT peers into a distant nebula

Astronomers using data from ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), at the Paranal Observatory in Chile, have made an impressive composite of the nebula Messier 17, also known as the Omega Nebula or the Swan Nebula. The painting-like image shows vast clouds of gas and dust illuminated by the intense radiation from young stars.

The image shows a central region about 15 light-years across, although the entire nebula is even larger, about 40 light-years in total. Messier 17 is in the constellation of Sagittarius, about 6000 light-years from Earth. It is a popular target for amateur astronomers, who can obtain good quality images using small telescopes.

These deep VLT observations were made at near-infrared wavelengths. In the centre of the image is a cluster of massive young stars whose intense radiation makes the surrounding hydrogen gas glow. To the lower right of the cluster is a huge cloud of molecular gas.

At visible wavelengths, dust grains in the cloud obscure our view, but by observing in infrared light, the glow of the hydrogen gas behind the cloud can be seen shining faintly through. Hidden in this region, which has a dark reddish appearance, the astronomers found the opaque silhouette of a disc of gas and dust.

Although it is small in this image, the disc has a diameter of about 20 000 AU, dwarfing our Solar System. It is thought that this disc is rotating and feeding material onto a central protostar — an early stage in the formation of a new star.

• Image Credit: ESO

Omega Nebula By: Jukka-Pekka Metsävainio

Omega Nebula By: Jukka-Pekka Metsävainio

Eagle Nebula & Omega Nebula